


Sink or Swim

by Babylawyer



Series: Sink or Swim [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-08-23
Packaged: 2019-06-29 22:18:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15738447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Babylawyer/pseuds/Babylawyer
Summary: Roland discovers he loves swimming and so the whole family takes a trip up to beach cottage. Lots of DimplesQueen. Written for OQonHolidays.





	1. Learning to Swim

**Author's Note:**

> Uses prompt 26. Regina teaches Roland how to swim

Regina loved water as child, loved swimming in the lake, those odd times Cora would let her. But the lake had been one of her and Daniels spots, a place they could sneak off to and trade lazy kisses and affection without worrying about getting caught. They took long walks along the sand, swam together, snuggled up on a blanket and forgot the world. It was a place where everything fell away and they could just be Regina and Daniel, two kids in love, not a (barely) royal and the stable boy.

After Daniel died she hated beaches, they reminded her too much of simpler times and lost love. Her hatred of them only grew every time she was forced to take a family beach trip with her husband and Snow. In a cruel twist of fate, the beach trip was one of the only trips where Regina wasn't left alone in the castle, even though it was the one she most wanted to avoid.

When she cast the curse it created a two beautiful lakes in Storybrooke the harbor, which had a public beach and then a smaller further away lake with a few cabins. While the curse was intact the beaches were rarely used. 

When Henry was four Regina took him to the local pool and taught him how to swim. She took an excessive amount of pictures of how cute he looked with his little life jacket on, smiling proudly as he swam about. One of them still sits on her desk at work, much to Henry’s embarrassment. 

Just like Regina had once done, Henry loved water and Regina was determined not to be her like her mother, not to deny Henry the experience of swimming in a lake because of her own demons. So for Henry’s fifth birthday they went to the beach for the first time and with her son she fell in love with it all over again. 

Summer beach trips became a regular occurrence in the Mills household, right up until Henry realized she was the Evil Queen and stopped wanting to hang out with his mom. Then life had kept them busy for a while, things only slowing down after they returned from Camelot in September. 

Robin, Regina, Henry and Roland had stayed together in as a family Camelot and so when they returned to no ones surprise Robin and Roland moved into the mansion. 

One day, in the late fall, Roland came to Regina’s office after school. For the first he noticed the picture of Henry swimming. 

“Regina, what’s that?”

She smiles as she takes in what Roland’s looking at “That’s from when Henry learned how to swim.”

“What’s swimming?” Roland asked his brow furrowing oh so cutely. And she takes a second to figure out how to explain it to him. 

“Have you ever played in a lake or river before Roland?”

His face falls and then he tells her sadly “No Daddy wouldn’t let me cause I was too little.”

And that makes sense, life jackets and flotation devices weren’t something that existed in the Enchanted Forest so swimming was riskier.

“Well,” she says leaning down so she's at his eye level and whispering like she’s sharing a big secret, “I think your big enough now.”

“REALLY?” Roland squeals vibrating from excitement, causing Regina to remind him,

“Inside voice please.”

Roland stops squirming and smiles at her, flashing those dimples, “Sorry Regina.” 

She can’t help but beam back at him as she tells him “It’s okay.”

“But how will I learn?”

“Well I’ll teach you.”

“But…” Roland’s voice trails off and he looks down. 

“What’s wrong sweetheart do you not to want me to?” She thinks maybe this is something he wants to share with his dad. 

“Isn’t that something Mamma's do and I don’t have a Mamma.”

Regina’s heartbreaks a but as she tells him, “Well honey you still have a Mamma, she's just not here, but she loves you very much. And it doesn’t have to be a mamma, I want to teach you, if that’s okay with you.”

“What if I want you to be my Mamma too?”

Regina’s eyes fill with tears, which Roland takes the wrong way his face falling, and she is quick to reassure him “Sweetheart, I’d love to, why don’t you call me mom and then we can still call your mamma, mamma.”

“Okay,” he says shyly, “Mom.”

* * *

That weekend she takes Roland to the pool. Robin is skeptical of the life jacket, but is content to sit back and watch as Regina teaches Roland how to swim. 

She gets Roland in it which turns out to be quite the chore because he's so excited and doesn't want to sit still. Then they walk into the shallow end of the pool. When Roland gets used to the water temperature she scoops him up into her arms and brings them out so she’s waist deep. Roland gives Robin an enthusiastic wave that she’s pretty sure gets caught on camera, but Robin's camera skills leave much to be desired. 

She lowers Roland into the water, he’s still hanging onto her arms and she’s supporting him but his feet are in the water. She tells him to try kicking his feet and ends up with a foot to the stomach because she didn't specify which direction. 

She winces and Roland says apologetically, “Sorry Mom.”

Her heart melts every time he calls her that and she tells him sweetly “It’s okay sweetheart, just try and push your legs out behind you and then kick that way.”

When he gets the hang of kicking she slowly lets go of him, and explains that swimming also uses arms. She encourages him to let go of her, and then shows him how to paddle with his arms, even though its a bit awkward while wearing a life jacket. 

Roland cries out gleefully, “Look Daddy, I’m swimmin.”

“I can see that, good job Roland.”

Regina backs away (just two small steps) and encourages Roland to swim into her arms. It takes him a while, mainly because he keeps trying to swim in a standing up position rather than laying onto his stomach. 

Roland gives her a huge excited grin when he makes it to her and tells her, “I love swimmin.”

And so, family trips to the pool become a regular occurrence. Robin wants to go to the beach, preferring to swim outdoors, and Regina agrees that lake swimming is better, but it’s November and far too cold for that. Robin swears its good for you but relents when she shows him her research about the greater probability of becoming sick after swimming in cold water. And so they agree to take Roland to the beach once it warms in the spring. 

But then Victoria Robyn Mills-Locksley is born in March and the lake plan gets put on hold, just for a little bit, until they get used to having a baby around. 

The first week of June they surprise Roland and Henry with a one week beach vacation. They go out to the smaller lake, still technically in Storybrooke, but an hour drive away, staying in one of the cabins on the lake.


	2. Baby's First Beach Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Day Two uses prompt: 24. Robyn’s first day at the beach with Robin, Regina, & the boys. Features grumpy teenage Henry and over excited Roland

They arrive at the cabin at noon. Robin had wanted to leave bright and early but Regina didn't want to deal with a sullen teenager all day or a cranky baby. She thought Henry’s eyes were going to pop out of his head when Robin first suggested leaving at 6:30am. On most days they were lucky if he got up by noon, and he hadn’t been happy this morning when his alarm went off, grumbling and groaning about how he needed more sleep. 

To Regina’s surprise and delight even though Victoria, who everyone called Peanut, had already taken a morning nap she also slept the entire car ride. Peanut tended to take 3-4 naps a day, though lately three was more common, so Regina should still have an opportunity to nap with her, not that she does that, often.

Roland’s bouncing off the walls as they go in, leaving an unhappy Henry and Robin to unpack the van, “Can we go in the water now please, please?”

“Just give us a second sweetheart, why don’t you dressed while your waiting?” Regina suggests, putting the still sleeping Peanut down onto a blanket. 

“I’m already wearin it, see?” Roland says as he strips off his clothes to reveal his bathing suit. He leaves his clothes crumpled on the floor where they landed and Regina gives him a second to pick them up, but they’ve clearly been forgotten. 

“I see that, now can you put your clothes away in your room?”

“But... I don’t know where my room is.” 

“Well because you’re the first one you get to pick,” she points to her left, “That one is for your dad and I, but you see those other two doors, one is for you and one is for Henry.”

“Ooh,” he squeals running off, without grabbing his clothes.

“Roland” she cautions and he spins around to face her, “Are you forgetting something?”

He runs back quickly picking up his clothes and then sets off to investigate the rooms. 

“Wow bunk beds,” she hears come from the one room and she laughs to herself, knowing that’s the room he will most likely claim. 

She hears him wander about the other room before he claims the room with the bunk beds. 

Robin and Henry come in with the last of the stuff as Roland returns to the living room. 

“Can we go now?” he asks impatiently.

“You need sunscreen first,” she tells him as he pouts over the delay. “If you bring it over here I’ll do it for you.”

“No,” he says firmly “I want to do it.”

“Okay just let me see it, and let me do your back.”

She watches him as he lathers on the sunscreen pouring way too much and getting frustrated when it won’t blend in.

“Mom,” a quiet voice asks, “Can you help me?”

“Come here,” she says with a little laugh and then starts to remedy the problem. 

Robin starts unpacking the groceries and putting them away, which is helpful and she appreciates but...

“Honey,” she calls out and waits until he turns around before continuing, “Someone's son is getting very impatient.”

“Henry?” giggles Roland. 

Henry replies cheekily, “I think she’s talking about you.”

“Nuh-uh” says Roland sticking out his tongue.

Robin sighs, “That’s enough, now who wants to go out swimming with me?” 

“Me me me me me me me,” exclaims Roland and they all snicker at his enthusiasm. 

Robin changes quickly and grabs everything they need. “Alright my boy, let’s go.”

Roland turns to her confused, “Aren’t you coming?”

“Maybe later, it’s a little too sunny for Peanut right now.”

“Okay,” he says dejectedly, “But you have to promise to swim with me later.”

“I promise.”

The boys come in for lunch around 2:30 and Roland tells her all about the beach, how he found some shells, dug a hole and then Henry buried him in it, so he had to go back in the water before they could come in. 

Peanut’s awake and Regina does want to laze around on the beach so she instructs Robin to grab the UV tent, as she puts Peanut’s hat on, then scoops her into her arms. . 

“I still think this thing is ridiculous,” Robin tells her, “Just sit in the shade it does the same thing.”

“Robin we are not doing this again,” she says firmly, having already tried and failed to explain to him why their daughter was too young to be out in the sun. Skin cancer and sun damage weren’t exactly things that got discussed in the Enchanted Forest. 

“I’m just teasing love,” he says dropping a kiss on her forehead and then giving one to Peanut, “We brought the ridiculous thing, might as well use it.”

They find a nice shady spot to set up the tent and a sunny spot for Regina to lie in. She basks in the sun for all of two seconds before Roland is urging her to swim with him. 

“Can I warm up first?” she asks.

He sighs dramatically, “I guess.”

Five minutes later she hears “Warm yet?” and knows she has denied him long enough so she turns to Robin, “You have Peanut?”

He shakes his in agreement and then Henry offers, “I’m not going in, I can watch her.”

“Yay!” Roland jumps up and down as he says “I can swim with both of you.” 

“You sure can,” says Robin “Now let’s get mom all wet.”

“Can Peanut swim?” asks Roland as they walk out into the water, Roland between them holding both of their hands.

“Not yet sweetie, she’s too little.” Regina tells him. 

“But she has baths, so why can’t she go in the water?”

“Remember when you helped me bathe her and you asked me why there was barely any water?” Roland nods, listening intently, “Remember I told you it’s because she’s too little for a bath like yours, well she’s too little for the lake too, it’s too much water.”

“But when she’s big, like me, then she can come in?”

“Yea exactly.”

Roland smiles at her and then ruins the moment by splashing water in her face, which Robin finds absolutely hilarious, right up until Roland does the same to him. And then it’s all out splashing war that ends with Robin scooping Regina in his arms and tossing her underwater.

“No more,” she sputters as she comes up and Roland agrees, only because he wants to get thrown in the water too. And so they take turns launching Roland into the water and he does a very good job of plugging his nose so he doesn’t inhale any water. She’s surprised his arms don’t hurt from being pulled up by the life jacket every time but if they do he doesn't say anything. 

When they go in they find Henry and Peanut asleep in the shade and Regina grabs the camera, managing to get a shot of him asleep and then his face when Roland wakes him. 

All in all they have a great first day at the beach. Henry reluctantly asks her for the aloe after dinner and is forced to admit that he was less than diligent with the sunscreen. She chastises Robin for not following up, who reminds her that Henry is almost an adult, and is should be capable of putting on his own sunscreen. 

She frowns at the thought of Henry, her baby boy, as an adult but knows it’s coming soon, he’ll be sixteen in two months, and she vows to savour every moment they have left.


	3. Puppy Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Day Three: Uses prompt 8 On a family vacation, OQ family finds an abandoned puppy on a beach. Roland and Henry try to convince their parents to keep it and take it back home.

Regina had always had one rule. No pets. Henry had begged and begged for a dog but she had been adamant. She hadn’t counted on having three very determined boys (and yes she was calling Robin a boy) gang up on her on their family vacation. The puppy was cute, no question, an all black lab, with deep dark eyes and a sweet little smile. Roland found her and had already named her by the time Regina noticed, having been distracted by Peanut’s valiant attempts to escape tummy time. 

And now, Roland looked up at her with such hope in his eyes, his face lighting up as the puppy crawled onto his lap and licked his hand. 

“Look Mom she likes me, can we please _please_ keep Eliza. I’ll take care of her, please Mom.” 

Regina hated to say no to that sweet face but, “Roland sweetie, Eliza probably has a family she’s missing, we have to find them.” 

__“But what if we are meant to be her family?” He says with a sweet hopeful smile, flashing his irresistible dimples._ _

Regina recruits Henry and to ask the people down the beach if they know anything about the puppy. Roland accompanies him, scooping ‘Eliza’ up into his arms and following behind Henry, who stops every few seconds to make sure Roland is keeping up. 

She hopes it’s their puppy and she got away because now Henry is holding the puppy and she knows he’ll have caught the puppy bug by the time they get back. And she knows Robin is only seconds away, having suggested they get a family dog multiple times, and swearing that he would be able to change her mind. She gets it she supposes, Eliza is very cute and it almost looked like she was smiling at Roland. And the look on Roland’s face when he was playing with her was _almost_ worth the hassle of a pet. 

Henry and Roland make their way back, the puppy still with them following beside a giggling Roland. 

When he's in earshot Henry excitedly tells them, “She was abandoned on the beach yesterday, that other family saw it and brought her some food but their son is really allergic so they can’t take her home.” 

Roland adds, “They said we should help her.” 

Then Robin pipes up, “Love we can’t just leave her here.” 

“Robin,” she hisses, “Do _not_ get our children’s hopes up.” 

It’s then that Roland asks, “Eliza needs a family, can we please be her family.” He looks at her, his face begging her to say yes, and Regina can tell he is already far too attached to this little puppy. 

Henry jumps in, “Yea come on Mom, Roland and I can take care of her, you won’t have to do anything.” 

She arches her brow at that, remembering the time Henry begged her to let him bring home the class hamster, and though he promised to do all the work the reality was the exact opposite. Then there was the plant she gave him to prove he could take care of a living thing. It died within the week. 

Henry must know what she’s thinking because he hastily adds, “I’m more mature now, it won’t be like the hamster or the plant. I can handle the responsibility.” 

Regina doesn't doubt that he can handle it, but it’s a question of whether he will put in the effort, she already has a three month old to take care of, she is not getting saddled with a puppy too, “What about when you are at Emma’s, who will take of her then?” 

Robin decides this is where he should jump in and offers, “Well I could help Roland with her when Henry’s away.” 

"Yay Daddy, your the bestest!" 

She shoots Robin a glare, making her displeasure obvious. But then she looks to the two very hopeful faces of her boys silently begging her to say yes and she feels her resolve weakening. She looks over at Eliza who yawns then cuddles up in Roland’s arms and it’s a heartwarming image.

“Okay fine,” She relents, already regretting her decision, using her magic to equip their cabin with everything they will need. 


	4. Runaway Roland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day Four: Uses prompt 13. OQ are in holiday with their children and Roland gets lost.  
> Regina comes to appreciate their new dog.

The boys spent most of their time on the beach, Roland playing in the sand or swimming and Henry joining him or napping. And normally they were accompanied by at least one of their parents, but Peanut was cranky all last night, barely slept and as a consequence neither did Robin or Regina. So when she fell asleep for her afternoon nap both wanted to join her. Robin suggested Henry could watch Roland while they napped and he had readily agreed. 

Still, it made Regina nervous and if she wasn't so tired she would have joined them outside. Roland was an adventurous child, always getting himself into trouble and then worming his way out it with those dimples. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Henry with Roland, she does, and it’s not like Henry hasn't watched him before without issue, she just... for some reason she just had a bad feeling about today.

Still, she manages to fall asleep snuggled up in Robin’s arms fairly quickly. But then is woken up by frantic, “Mom, mom, wake up mom.”

She groans as she opens her eyes, and tries not to look annoyed at Henry for waking her up, “What is it sweetheart?”

“I can’t find Roland.”

With that she shoots out of bed, heart racing, she nudges Robin awake tells him Roland is missing and gestures at Peanut Robin nods, understanding that she wants him to grab her. Regina heads outside with Henry, firing off questions, “How did this happen, where did you last see him?” 

Henry looks ashamed as he explains, “Ro wanted to play hide and seek so he hid and I found him and then when I hid, I waited and waited and I was right by the towels just behind the tree so I peeked my head out and he was gone. I ran up and down the beach yelling his name but he didn’t come out. I’m sorry mom, it seemed like a good idea I didn’t know he would run off.”

She takes a second to soothe her son, as Robin approaches with a grumpy Peanut, “It’s okay Henry you did the right thing finding us, let Robin and I check the beach again, maybe he came back.”

But she and Robin circle the beach, Henry staying at the towels with Peanut in case Roland wanders back, and he is nowhere to be found. Robin is much more calm that Regina, or at least pretending to be, as he reassures her they will find him. 

Eliza runs up to them, barking loudly, in her panic Regina had forgotten they had a dog to take care of too, “Not now Eliza, we need to find Roland.”

She keeps barking insistently, trying to get them to follow her into the bushes and Robin wonders aloud “Maybe she knows where he is.”

Regina can’t keep the skepticism off of her face but Eliza does stop barking when they follow her. When they clear the bushes they find a trail and Eliza breaks out into a run, with Robin and Regina following behind her. They reach the top of an uphill slope and Regina is sweating buckets, doesn't think she can run anymore, when Eliza stops and whimpers looking over the right edge. She follows her gaze and there is Roland, clutching his ankle and crying softly, about five feet down. Relief washes over her as Robin rushes down and scoops a no longer crying Roland into his arms. 

She hears him whisper “It’s okay, you’re okay” before climbing back up to meet her.

Robin sets Roland down and Regina makes quick work of healing his ankle. He winces at first then relaxes as her magic heals him. 

“You scared us baby.” Regina tells him and his eyes water.

Robin tells his strictly ‘You can’t just run off like that Roland.” 

“I’m sorry, Henry was hiding but I saw a toad and I wanted to catch it so I followed it, but then I fell. And I was scared until Eliza found me and I told her to go get you and she did, she’s the bestest dog ever.”

Eliza lets out a proud bark and then nudges Roland, begging for attention. Eliza and Roland have been inseparable since they took her home two days ago. Regina has to admit she’s very glad they took in the puppy, but that doesn’t stop her from brewing some locator potions that night, just to be safe.


End file.
